Thais use improvised rafts to float around in flooded Bangkok

Thai residents make their way across a flooded street near to the rising waters of the Chao Phraya river on October 29, 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. Around 370 people have died in flood-related incidents since late July according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Thailand is experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years with damages running as high as USD 6 billion which could increase as the floods swamp Bangkok.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Men paddle their makeshift raft through a flooded street in central Bangkok October 29, 2011. Receding floodwaters north of Bangkok have reduced the threat to the Thai capital, the prime minister said Saturday, but high tides in the Gulf of Thailand will still test the city's flood defences.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

A man drinks water on a mattress floating along a flooded street in central Bangkok October 29, 2011. Receding floodwaters north of Bangkok have reduced the threat to the Thai capital, the prime minister said Saturday, but high tides in the Gulf of Thailand will still test the city's flood defences.

Aaron Favila / AP

Thai residents use an improvised raft as they move to higher ground along a flooded area in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. The complex network of flood defenses erected to shield Thailand's capital from the country's worst floods in nearly 60 years was put to the test Saturday as coastal high tides hit their peak.

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP - Getty Images

Local residents use rafts in an area near the Chao Praya river in Bangkok on October 29, 2011. Floods engulfing parts of the Thai capital should start to recede soon, the prime minister said on October 29, after barriers along Bangkok's swollen main river prevented a disastrous overflow.

From the story:

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said in her weekly radio address that floodwaters that had wreaked havoc to provinces north of Bangkok in the last several weeks had started to recede, and she urged citizens to let the crisis take its course.

"We have the good news that the situation in the central region has improved as runoff water gradually decreased," she said. "I thank people and urge them to be more patient in case this weekend is significant because of the high tide."